By John Sutter
Whenever I write about air pollution here, I can’t help but think back to a year ago when I was living in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo. The city is this winding, hilly mess of cobble stone roads and tunnels that go through the hills. To walk into the city center from where I lived, I had to go through one of the main tunnels: it dripped this black goo, and when I walked through it, I would put my sleeve over my mouth to avoid lapping in all of the soot. At night, I’d come up to blow my nose to find tar-colored snot. It was gross, to say the least, and it wasn’t even on the radar of the environmental and health problems faced in Madagascar.
Here’s a blog I posted almost a year ago to the day about that situation. It’s a recap of a postcard I wrote to a friend here in Oklahoma City. (He jokes around that I have a big nose, so that’s what’s up with the drawing.) By one news report, Antananarivo has the second worst air quality of any city in the world. I’m not trying to downplay what officials here in Oklahoma say are significant health problems associated with ozone and soot in the air, but I think it never can hurt to get a little perspective, also.